$1,000,000 – GGPoker Doubles GGMasters Prize Pool

The newly doubled $1,000,000 guaranteed GGMasters made its debut on Sunday at GGPoker, keeping the buy-in unchanged. The first edition attracted 8,352 players, generating a total prize pool of $1,152,576—the largest regular field in GGMasters history, excluding special editions.

GGPoker had already decided to double the prize pool before canceling the $5M anniversary edition, and the operator confirmed that the $1,000,000 guarantee could remain long-term if participation numbers remain sustainable.

Launched in 2020 with a $250,000 guarantee, GGMasters quickly gained recognition as a rare freezeout event amid the growing dominance of re-entry tournaments. The traditional structure was backed by GGPoker’s global ambassador, Daniel Negreanu.

Within weeks, the guarantee was increased to $500,000, and despite frequent overlays at first, the online poker boom triggered by COVID-19 made the event profitable. Since then, GGPoker has tripled its player base, but instead of increasing the GGMasters guarantee, it introduced new variants such as Bounty, Deepstack, and Asia editions.

With the latest increase, GGMasters now matches the Sunday Million in terms of guaranteed prize money. However, while both tournaments now feature a $1,000,000 guarantee, there are key differences between them.

The Sunday Million has a $109 buy-in, allows re-entries, and runs in a progressive knockout (PKO) format. In contrast, GGMasters has a slightly higher $150 buy-in, but remains a pure freezeout, resembling the classic version of the Sunday Million.

Over the past few years, PokerStars' flagship tournament has struggled to meet its guarantee, partly due to market exits. Last Sunday, the tournament attracted 10,060 entries, barely surpassing the guarantee. However, 2,578 of these entries were re-entries, meaning GGMasters actually drew a larger field of unique players.

This Sunday, GGMasters will again feature a $1,000,000 guarantee, but with a key structural change: it will now be a two-day event. Play will pause at the final table, with the remaining nine players returning the next day to compete for the title.

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